Developing Your Visual Vocabulary: A Daily Practice in Mark Making by Lisa Congdon

All levels | 3 hours 25 min

Developing Your Visual Vocabulary
Overview01:24
Materials04:19

Introduction to mark making
Day 1 - Lines and x's06:42
Day 2 - Circles and dots06:59
Day 3 - Zig zag variations03:26
Day 4 - Loops and scallops05:48
Day 5 - Weave and crosshatch06:22
Day 6 - Scribbles with wet and dry media04:43
Day 7 - Overlapping and connected circles05:31
Day 8 - Grid of simple marks06:32
Day 9 - Splashes and drips03:49
Day 10 - Shapes and patterns with wet media 05:29
Day 11 - Tools and shapes with wet media05:57
Day 12 - "Textile" drawing06:53
Day 13 - Abstract water drawing03:04
Day 14 - Connected abstract shape drawing09:16
Day 15 - Mixed media circle drawing08:10

Mark making for collage
Day 16 - Simple grid collage08:48
Day 17 - Arch collage06:20
Day 18 - Triangle collage07:17
Day 19 - Botanical collage05:00
Day 20 - Abstract collage05:27

Mark making to create representational work
Day 21 - Leaves06:22
Day 22 - Trees06:40
Day 23 - Buildings05:39
Day 24 - Owls06:58
Day 25 - Mushrooms06:48
Day 26 - Pottery05:02
Day 27 - Birds14:07
Day 28 - Flowers09:21
Day 29 - Landscape08:56
Day 30 - Large drawing of your choosing08:14

Taught by Lisa Congdon

Buy For $49.95

Pricing Options

How you make marks on the page is completely unique to you and is an essential part of what makes up your visual vocabulary. Your visual vocabulary includes the amount of pressure you put on your pencil, your color palette, and the shapes and elements you use over and over that altogether create your artistic style. Join artist, illustrator, author, and longtime Creativebug instructor Lisa Congdon for this month-long mark making daily practice. You’ll explore the basics of mark making, build your own repertoire of marks, and learn how to use those marks to create drawings and collages in different media like colored pencil, watercolor, and collage. Lisa will guide you through drawing everything from leaves to birds to landscapes, as well as one large final project where you can combine and play with everything you learned in class as you continue to refine your drawing toolkit. Find Day 31’s recorded live conversation with Lisa HERE.

Here’s what you’ll need:

9 x 12 inch smooth Bristol paper cut in half
Colored pencils and pencil sharpener
Eraser
Regular pencil
Black pens such as a micron 03 and black rolling ball pen
Watercolor paints
Paint brushes in a variety of sizes and widths
Jar of water
Paper towels
Acrylic ink
Household objects or upcycled items to make your own mark-making tools such as a dowel or piece of cardboard
Glue stick or liquid glue
Sponge
Masking tape
Scissors
X-acto knife and a cutting mat
Ruler or straight edge
Large piece of paper for final activity
Heat gun or hair dryer to help dry paint (optional)

Downloads:

Download Materials List

Learn how to:

Draw basic marks like lines, x's, loops, and dots
Make marks with various media like colored pencil, watercolor, acrylic ink, and collage
Use your repertoire of marks to make drawings of things you see around you like botanicals, animals, and landscapes
Let go of perfection and discover your own unique artist's hand